R.I. 34th in nation for YTD export growth in September

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked 34th in the nation for its lack of export growth during the first nine months of the year, according to e-forecasting.com.
Foreign sales from Rhode Island’s companies, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 9 percent when compared with the same nine-month period in 2014. Hawaii ranked first for its 45.5 percent export growth, and Wyoming ranked last for a nearly 31 percent decline.
Shipments abroad from Rhode Island’s exporters surged to $177.6 million in September, 30.7 percent more than in August, but a 23.9 percent drop from September 2014.
Manufactured goods were a major contributor to foreign sales, accounting for 61 percent of all state exports in September at $108.9 million. Shipments of these items increased 3.6 percent from August, but declined nearly 27 percent over the year, e-forecasting.com said.
Exports of non-manufactured goods jumped 123.3 percent in September to $68.7 million, from August’s $30.8 million. This segment consists of agricultural goods, mining products and re-exports, which are foreign goods that have entered the state as imports and are exported in substantially the same condition as when imported. However, over the year, this segment declined 19.4 percent.
E-forecasting.com said there is a “weakening trend” in foreign demand for goods made in Rhode Island, pointing to “deteriorating” economic activity in industrial countries as a reason.
E-forecasting.com said that in the third quarter, economic activity declined in Japan by 0.2 percent and, in the 19-member club of the European Union that uses the euro as its currency, national income increased by only 0.3 percent.
“The geopolitical events in Paris and other European cities coupled with ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East are not supportive of a quick recovery in the European economy,” according to the news release from e-forecasting.com.
Worldwide, in the first nine months of the year, merchandise exports reached $11.4 trillion, a drop of 11.1 percent, or $1.4 trillion less, than the same period in 2014. This data is compiled by the World Trade Organization and based on 70 monthly reporting countries which account for more than 90 percent of world trade, e-forecasting.com said.

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